Georgetown v. Johns Hopkins (International Studies, Sociology, Econ, Languages)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
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Hi CC,

I’m currently a hs senior and was lucky enough to get into Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Tufts (and some more). I am an international student (South Korea) and am currently spending my senior year in Spain. That means I won’t be able to attend any of the events for admitted students. I do like Tufts, but since I prefer JHU and Georgetown to Tufts, I’m getting rid of Tufts from my list. So it really comes down to Hopkins and Georgetown.

I am planning on majoring in International Studies (or something similar), but I definitely want a more focused area of study than the inevitably broad academic field that is IS. I am interested in Georgetown Walsh’s International Economics and JHU’s double-major program called Global Social Change and Development (IS & Sociology). Though I’m very into learning the global context of economics and sociology, I am NOT into PoliSci or Public Policy studies. I do love learning languages (If I could, I would only take languages courses), but I don’t think I would really need a degree in languages. I can still take language courses without major in them or take them abroad during summers or even after college, and that would not have any impact on my proficiency in my target languages. However, (sorry if I sound arrogant but I really do believe in this) since I truly believe I have great talents in languages, I might end up double-majoring in a language program. Yet I am pretty sure I would end up double majoring or minoring in a program that I can only take at such a prestigious and high-caliber school like JHU and GU.

I plan on moving off campus as soon as possible (I think), am still not sure if I want a more pre-professional education or not, don’t really care if the school is cut-throat or not, am perfectly fine with Baltimore over DC, not sure if I want to go to grad school or not but would prefer not to.

So below are some pros and cons of both schools from my point of view:

Johns Hopkins

Pros

  • can double major
  • slightly better academic reputation (in general) → important for me b/c I’m not that into politics/IR and would like to double major in sth that’s not IS-/IR-related
  • since I’m not that into PoliSci, JHU’s IS program could be a better fit?
  • more flexibility regarding tailor the IS major to my personal interests
  • would like to move off-campus at some point
  • feel like, if I’m not sure about many things (ex. pre-professional or not, what to major in beside IS, etc), Hopkins would be a better choice
  • heard many rumors about its lack of social life, but also heard that it’s not so much like that for Humanities majors?
  • lack of core curriculum (hate theology) → (+ double major) more flexibility

Cons

  • small community for humanities/IS compared to Georgetown/Walsh
  • JHU’s IS program only that prestigious on a graduate school level?
  • originally was not worried about Hopkins’ “cut-throat” culture but have been hearing many rumors about how bad it is
    (Is it true?)
  • Like both DC and Baltimore, but prefer DC slightly more
  • more opportunities/internships in DC

Georgetown (I won’t repeat what I’ve already written for JHU)

Pros

  • More prestige & public recognition in IS/IR programs?
  • more like-minded peers (IS/Humanities/Languages)
  • like DC
  • like both JHU’s GSCD (IS & Sociology double major program) and Walsh’s Int’l Econ but if I had to choose only one, would choose Walsh’s Int’l Econ.
  • but at the same time would be fine with both b/c still can tailor JHU’s IS program to my interests

Cons

  • not into politics, so not really sure if its proximity to the Hill would really help me
  • would want to study econ/sociology, which might be stronger in general at Hopkins
  • CAN’T double major

Please help me! Any comments, corrections, suggestions, advice?

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I can give you a bit of a window into Hopkins. My daughter is currently a sophmore double majoring in IS and Economics at JHU. Yes it is easy to double major there, and if you have an aptitude for numbers the majors dovetail nicely. Fluency in a language is required for IS major so languages are an integral part of that major at Hopkins.
As a potential IS major at Georgetown I am assuming that you got into the SFS. I would say that it seemed to my daughter that based on course offerings Hopkins IS major has more economics courses (hence is an easy double major since many of the courses are required for both) than Georgetown which seemed to be more sociology/geographical and policy based for future State Dept work etc. (public sector) which is does very well.
It may be interesting to you to look into where both school’s graduates end up and see which aligns best to what you are thinking.
Hopefully a SFS student can chime in as well. Because again, my daughter’s perspective is from Hopkins, though she too looked at both schools and both have lots to offer a student. I would add that at Hopkins she is currently doing research under a well-known and respected economist who publishes regularly for Forbes, WSJ and others, as well as being president of the public policy consulting club which travels to DC and advocates with members of congress each semester.

Both schools are great choices for you whichever you decide. The opportunities will be there at both of them. It’s what you choose to seek out and do. Good luck with your decision!!!

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Thank you so much for your response, @momoftwins2017. I’ve decided to be a Blue Jay this fall! I realized that I’m not ready to commit myself to the IS/IR field yet and instead want to explore more academically. Hopkins’ curriculum works perfectly for me for its focus on interdisciplinary education!

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Congratulations on your decision. Welcome!